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Khalistan supporters buy Super Bowl ad spot that costs several million dollars

By
Balaji Subramanian
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Super Bowl is one of the calendar events in America. There are instances when fans would mortgage there house to pay for the ticket to watch one of the most important sporting events of the year. The American National Football League is also fast becoming popular across with many American teams playing away games in Europe.

Super Bowl is also known for its half time musical performances from some of the most popular singers and companies line up to put their ads which will be seen by over 100 million Americans as confirmed by a Reuters report. These ads, however, cost upwards of 5 million dollars for a 30-second but one ad, in particular, stood a little apart from the regular commercials and that was of the farmers’ protest in India.

The 30-second advertisement began with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. and termed the ongoing farmers’ protest as the “largest protest in history”. Singer Jazzy B sent out a tweet and said, “World is Watching”.

https://twitter.com/jazzyb/status/1358554697716490241

Indian-American banker Raj Sodhi Layne and her friends is said to have put together this 30 seconds ad which grabs 100.45 million viewers. “Our initial goal was to raise $852,000 to air the ad in all 43 major cities across the United States. But we were a bit late for that,” Raj was quoted saying in The Indian Express.

They had set up a page on crowdfunding platform ‘GoFundMe’ and managed to raise $11,123 in just one day. The ad was produced by one local artist and producer named Shar Singh of Teji Videos.

Super Bowl commercials are high-profile television advertisements known for their creativity and cinematic quality and feature celebrity cameos and it is not uncommon some of these commercials also go viral on the internet, and the people who bought this time slot are hoping for that.

Right now in India thousands of farmers, especially from the Punjab which has a large diaspora in the US and Canada have literally sealed the Delhi’s borders for more than 75 days that has led to a loss of nearly 80 thousand crores.

The farmers are demanding that the government rollback of the three new agriculture reform laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system being retained. All the negotiation attempt for an equitable compromise made by the government and the farmers’ union leaders have failed thus far and the protesters are hell-bent on continuing the siege.

Already singer Rihanna, Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg who famously let the tools fall out of her toolkit, American vlogger and Playboy model Amanda Cerny, and the world’s most famous porn star Mia Khalifa have sent tweets supporting the farmers.

It has also been alleged that Rihanna received 3.5 million dollars for sending that one single tweet. Many in the opposition in India claim that the farmer’s protest is purely organic but it is clear that some foreign interests are extending there support because it is not easy to get an ad spot in the Super Bowl which cost millions of dollars.

However, it is very clear that some very rich and influential people have launched a systematic campaign against the Modi government and derail the BJP in 2024 general election. The farmer’s protest also saw the ugly rise for the demand for Khalistan which has a history of violence in which thousands of Sikhs and Hindus lost there lives in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Khalistanis get lots of support from Canada and also from Pakistan which is viewing this as an opportunity to create rift and discord in India. Already India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement has said: “The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible,”.

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PM Modi gets emotional, showers praise and thanks Ghulam Nabi Azad for his service

By
The Commune
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament got very emotional when he talked about an incident that happened years ago when he and senior Congress party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad were both Chief Ministers – of Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, reports NDTV.

Ghulam Nabi Azad is the outgoing leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha and in his farewell speech, PM Modi recalled how a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir affected many pilgrims from Gujarat and narrated the complications he faced as Chief Minister to bring back the dead bodies to the state.

“I will never forget Shri Azad’s efforts and Pranab Mukherjee’s efforts when people from Gujarat were stuck in Kashmir due to a terror attack. That night Ghulam Nabi Ji called me. He cared for those people like you would care for a member of your family,” a teary-eyed Modi said.

“Power comes and goes. But how to handle it…,” PM Modi broke off again and saluted the Congress veteran Azad who sat across him in the upper house.

“I would not let you retire, I will continue taking your advice. My doors are always open for you,” PM Modi said about Congress leader Azad who is slated to retire on February 15.

“Whoever takes over in his (Azad) stead will have a problem; they will have to work really hard to fill his shoes,” Modi added.

Modi also said Ghulam Nabi Azad distinguished himself as Parliamentarian because he not only worries about his party but also had a similar passion towards the smooth running of the House and towards India’s development and set very high standards as MP and opposition leader.

When Azad got his turn to speak, he said, “I am among those fortunate people who have never been to Pakistan. Looking at the state of affairs in Pakistan or even in the other Muslim countries of the world, I think, every Muslim should feel proud that we are in India,” laced with Urdu couplets.

Azad also talked about former India Prime Minister Bihari Vajpayee and said, “The easiest working of the House was when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was LoP. People chose us to make rules for them. These rules would not pass if we keep arguing. I learned a lot from Atalji, how to break a deadlock, how to run the House,”.

Two MPs from the Peoples Democratic Party, Nazir Ahmed Laway and Mir Mohammed Fayaz, veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shamsher Singh Manhas will be retiring from Rajya Sabha on 15 February.

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Congress promises law to preserve Sabarimala traditions if voted to power

By
The Commune
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Congress Sabarimala

In an interesting turn of events, the Kerala unit of the Congress said on Saturday that they would bring in legislation to protect the age-old traditions at Sabarimala temple if they are voted to power by the people. The Congress proposed making any violation of traditions at the shrine “a cognizable offence”, with a punishment of up to two years’ imprisonment.

In 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the entry of women of all ages into the temple.  The five-judge constitution bench headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in a 4:1 verdict, said that banning the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple amounts to gender discrimination and that the practice violates the rights of Hindu women. Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman on the bench, gave the sole dissenting opinion in the Sabarimala verdict. However, several review petitions challenging the order were filed in the Court and some larger questions arising out of the pleas were referred  to the nine-judge Bench.

Stressing that the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple still remains an unresolved issue, the Congress released a draft of the proposed legislation.

Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who released the draft of the party’s planned Sabarimala legislation on February 6, said, “The Congress wants a legislation to protect the age-old traditions at the temple. Violation of the traditions or any act challenging the traditions, as per the proposed legislation, would be reckoned as a cognizable offence. It would be known as the Sabarimala Ayyappa Devotees (Protection of Religious Rights, Customs and Usages) Act, 2021. Both the Centre and the State have rights to make legislation on the issue and if voted to power, the Congress in Kerala will introduce a law to protect the customs at the temple.” The Congress said this new Act would entail a punishment of up to two years in case of a violation.

Keeping an eye on the Hindu ‘vote-bank’

After the Supreme Court verdict, the LDF government had sought to enforce entry of women who wanted to go to the temple, with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan aggressively pushing it in line with the Left’s and Kerala’s progressive credentials. But the initial enthusiasm has since weakened, as bubbling anger over the issue was identified as a reason for the CPM’s rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. With the Kerala Assembly elections approaching, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has made “the protection of traditions and customs at the temple” the central point of his ongoing state tour — pushing the CPM into a corner.

The LDF government in Kerala currently finds itself in a quagmire over the issue. When asked about his government’s next course of action on Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan appeared noncommittal, repeating that they were waiting for the decision of the nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the matter.

With the BJP emerging as a contender in the state, the Congress is looking to attract more Hindu voters to its side. BJP national executive member P K Krishnadas asked on Saturday if Pinarayi was ready to “stand with the devotees”. “Only the BJP and Hindu outfits had stood with the devotees in the Sabarimala issue. The AICC and Rahul Gandhi had then supported the state government,” he said.

Asked whether Sabarimala would be a poll issue, Congress leader Radhakrishhan said, “It is a matter that has hurt lakhs of devotees. The issue is still alive as the CPM government is not ready to protect the interests of the faithful. Around 50,000 devotees are facing cases, registered by the government during their protests against entry of young women. How can devotees forget the matter when they are fighting cases?”

Contrary to the stand taken by its state leaders, the central unit of the Congress had supported the entry of all women into Sabarimala. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019 had told press-persons that he saw merit in the traditionalists’ argument for upholding the ban on the entry of young women into the temple. Interestingly, even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had backed women’s entry into the temple in 2016, but had changed its stance after the outburst against the SC verdict.

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DMK chief MK Stalin lifts Vel, his half sister insults Vel

By
The Commune
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Member of Parliament from Thoothukudi and DMK women’s wing secretary Kanimozhi refused to accept the Vel presented by her party cadres during an election campaign in Madurai on Monday.

The DMK women’s wing leader is on a two day visit to Madurai to campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections. She will be inaugurating the statue of late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi at Simmakkal.

While visiting it, Vadakkumasi Veedi, DMK Circle Secretary Balu and Area Secretary Saravanan tried to present a bronze Vel to Kanimozhi.

However, she frowned upon them and refused to accept the Vel. The two DMK cadres later tried to cover up by saying that they had got the ‘Vel’ for the temple in their village and ‘did not present’ the Vel to her. They were quoted saying in a Tamil daily that they carried the Vel in their hands as they had come in an auto rickshaw while coming to attend the Kanimozhi meeting. “Since we can’t leave the Vel in the auto, we carried it along with us. But she thought it was being presented to her”, the DMK office bearer was quoted saying in the report.

Earlier, at a DMK Gram Sabha meeting held in Ammaiyar Kuppam near Tiruttani, the DMK chief was presented with a silver Vel (spear weapon of Lord Murugan) by the party cadres. Reportedly, poojas were done to this silver Vel at the Tiruttani Murugan temple before presenting it to M.K. Stalin.

After the Karuppar Koottam episode, in which the rabid YouTube channel run by ‘Periyarists’ with links to the DMK, abused Hindu God Murugan and Kandha Sashti Kavasam, the DMK has been feeling the heat for its anti-Hindu politics.

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Actor Deep Sidhu arrested for involvement in Jan 26 Delhi violence

By
The Commune
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Deep Sidhu arrested

Actor Deep Sidhu (36), who has been accused of instigating violence on January 26 in Delhi has been arrested by the police on February 9.

The police had announced announced a bounty of ₹ 1 lakh for leads on Deep Sidhu and three other accused.

The actor had been posting videos on Facebook trying to defend himself. These videos were reportedly uploaded by his friend abroad. The Delhi Police Crime Branch has been on the look out for him over the past few days.

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Watch: Hungry Pakistanis fight each other for cake, Foreign Minister eats with mask on

By
The Commune
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In a video that is going viral on social media, Pakistanis can be seen pouncing on a huge cake and fighting for their share at an event organized in Multan in which Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi participated.

The Foreign Minister was inaugurating a road in Multan city located in Punjab province of Pakistan. To mark the event, a cake was cut by Foreign Minister Qureshi. After the cake-cutting, the Minister who was wearing his mask tried to eat the cake with his mask on, while other hungry Pakistanis can be seen fighting it out to get their share of the cake. Some of them can also be seen picking the pieces fallen on the ground.

At a time when the pandemic is not yet over, it can be seen that a function with the Pakistan’s Foreign Minister as guest had scant regard for social distancing and other COVID19 norms.

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The people behind the new FDI and ‘farmers’ protest

By
The Commune
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The ongoing farmer protests at the border of Delhi for the past three months has garnered support from international celebrities like Actress Rihanna and child environment activist Greta Thunberg, who have tweeted in support of the protesting farmers. But a tool kit that contained documents about the pre-planned nature of the protests, that was shared and shortly deleted by Greta Thunberg on Twitter, has raised severe concerns about a global plan to defame India. The document also revealed that Rihanna’s and Greta’s tweets were pre-planned, and not spontaneous.

Rihanna had shared a CNN link about suspended internet services at the protest site and said with an exclamation mark “Why aren’t we talking about this?!”,with the hashtag #FarmersProtest. On the same day, child activist Greta Thunberg also tweeted in support of the protesting farmers and after a short while, revealed about a global sinister plan to defame India by sharing a ‘Tool Kit’ for those who want to support the ongoing protests. This has increased the  speculations about the global players who are behind the protests to defame the Indian government.

In the year 2012, singer Rihanna founded The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), a non- profit organisation, to support and fund innovative and effective education and emergency response programs around the world, as per the official website of the foundation. The company lists Mai Lassiter as one of its Directors, who draws no salary from the Foundation for her service.

According to her profile mentioned in Los Angels Public Library website, she has been a committed fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee since 2003 and was a California Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. She also served as a member of the National Finance Committee for Obama in 2012. Her name gets featured in the list of Obama’s top fund-raisers for the 2012 Presidential election campaign and interestingly, she is mentioned as a homemaker in the list. She raised a sum of $882,600 for Obama in 2011-12 and a total of $1,047,600 from 2007 as a homemaker, thereby raising speculations. Besides Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation that has chosen a committed fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, Mai Lassiter, as one of its directors, the singer herself endorsed Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate, during the 2016 US elections.

In April 2020, Clara Lionel Foundation was in news along with Open Society Foundation, for pledging millions of dollars to fight the pandemic. During the 2012 US Presidential elections, Hungarian born billionaire George Soros, who is the founder of Open Society, committed $1.5 million to “Super PACs” backing President Barack Obama and Democrats running for the Congress and in 2016, the Obama administration provided $9 million in US tax dollars to the liberal billionaire, that was then used to financially assist left-wing political activities in Albania.

In January 2020, George Soros pledged $1 billion to fund a new university network to tackle the spread of nationalism and fight “would be dictators”, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, thereby affirming that his left wing political activism is not only limited to Albania. Soros singled out Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticism, warning that the BJP politician’s actions were the “most frightening setback”  the battle for open society against “would-be and actual dictators”. Soros said “democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semiautonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship.” During his speech, he also condemned the then US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a recent tweet, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi indirectly signalled at PM Modi as a dictator, raising eyebrows at the coincidence of words.

The revelation about the pre-planned tweet of international pop singer Rihanna and her being in news with a Global billionaire George Soros who criticised Modi as a “would be dictator” last year, leaves enough room for concerns about global network to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India.

(With inputs from String)

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Israeli PM Netanyahu faces trial for corruption charges weeks before election

By
The Commune
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Netanyahu corruption Israel elections

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected corruption charges and filed for plea weeks before the country’s election. He was convicted of fraud charges last year, along with charges stating the breach of trust and bribery. He was accused of accepting lavish gifts from wealthy friends and offering to grant favours to powerful media moguls in exchange for favourable coverage of him and his family n the media. The latest hearing was postponed last month due to lockdown restrictions on public gatherings.

In regard to the corruption charges and the conviction, he has pleaded innocence. He has refused to step down, despite the mounting charges and accusations against him. It is to be noted that he is the longest-serving PM of the Israel and also the first sitting Israeli PM to be tried in court.

Meanwhile, protests against him are rampant in the country, and citizens have taken to the streets demanding a change in leadership. The group called “The Pink Front” took to streets to protest against the current Prime Minister and demanded his resignation over corruption allegations, which he has repeatedly declined. Many carried banners which had the words “Crime Minister” written on them.

As the polls are approaching, Netanyahu hopes to campaign on having pulled the country out of the pandemic through one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns. He boasts of having personally secured millions of doses from major drug-makers and assures to vaccinate a major part of the population before the polls.

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Karnataka’s Christian community donates over ₹ 1 crore towards Ayodhya Ram temple

By
The Commune
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Sri Ram temple Christians Ram Mandir Ayodhya Karnataka

Members of the Christian community in Bengaluru contributed more than ₹ 1 crore for the construction of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. The office of the Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan released a statement to the press on the contribution on Sunday.

The amount was contributed to the ongoing fund-raising drive in a meeting with members of the Christian community in Bengaluru convened by Narayan, the press release stated.

Entrepreneurs, businessmen, educationists, NRIs, CEOs, marketing experts, social service activists, and leaders of the Christian community participated in the meeting.

“BJP believes in pro-people actions and Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas’ as stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is an inclusive party comprising all the minorities and this philosophy of governance is being followed both at the Centre and the state,” Narayan said.

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Indiamart CEO booked for selling rocks from ‘Govardhangiri’ hills

By
The Commune
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The CEO of Indiamart Dinesh Agarwal, along with three others, have been booked for allegedly trying to sell ‘Govardhangiri’ rocks on the eCommerce website. The Govardhan Hill near Mathura is considered sacred by Hindus, as it is associated with Lord Krishna. A lot of real-life events relating to Lord Krishna have also been tied to this hill.

In this regard, these men have been accused of selling the rocks of this hill on the eCommerce website, claiming they were “natural” and quoted its price as ₹5,175 per piece.

Following this, hundreds of devotees in Uttar Pradesh demonstrated against this in front of the Govardhan police station. The Uttar Pradesh Brahmin Mahasabha has decided to meet the Mathura District Magistrate on Monday for strict action against the company and the supplier. They have now been booked by the local police in Mathura.

Speaking about this, SP (Rural) Shirish Chandra said, “Stern action would be taken against the company, its CEO, and the supplier for inciting religious feelings by misusing the facility of information technology.” He added that an FIR has been filed under Section 265 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act against IndiaMART founder-CEO Dinesh Agarwal, co-founder Brajesh Agrawal and Mathura-based supplier Ankur Agrawal.

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